“She’s a nice woman. But I don’t play in the company pool, like the rest of the PAVAD assholes.”
“See, this is why you don’t have many friends.”
“I had friends at PAVAD once.” He tapped his forehead. Next to the scar. “It nearly got me killed, remember?”
It wasn’t the first he’d ever mentioned what had happened to him. But that was a hot button topic most were afraid to even talk to him about. Well, she wasn’t going to gloss over it—or let him use it to keep people at arms’ length. “That…was random crap, Knight. A monster who had no business breathing the same air as the rest of us. And I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
He glared at her for a moment. Knight always glared. At least at her. He was actually nice to some of the other women they worked with, like Dani and Jac. But with her…no. Miranda was still trying to figure out why. Every profile she came up with for him, well, he’d just defy it in some way every time. She still had not fully figured him out.
Or why he bothered her so much.
“Why don’t you like me, Dr. Allan Knight?”
She asked it whimsically, but…Miranda actually wanted to know. She had her suspicions. He just kept almost confirming those suspicions. They’d worked a case back in her hometown the first time they’d worked together. It had gotten…dicey. She’d been attacked, in her own grandmother’s kitchen.
Things had burned between her and Knight ever since.
And…she wasn’t going to think about that stupid kiss right now. She just wasn’t. That was definitely for later.
“The curse of that eternal sunshine you just exude should be answer enough. I’ll finish changing. Meet you in the lobby in five minutes.”
The fool man shut the door right in her face.
Well.
At least he was unpredictable.
An ass, but…unpredictable.
Predictable could be so boring, after all.
Now, all she could do was wait.
The damned woman was waiting for him right in the middle of the small lobby, a beacon to all who got close. He watched her as she chatted with an older woman and a teenager carrying softball gear—during a snowstorm. She was good at making small talk, at drawing people to her.
Damn it. Sometimes he couldn’t look away.
Knight wasn’t going to be stupid enough to tell her that, though. Not by a long shot. He was not going to give that woman that power. He waited until she was finished with her conversation, then approached. “Come on. Before you starve to death.”
“My hero.” She batted her eyes at him, then slipped her hands into the rear pockets on the jeans she had no business wearing. At least, not for his sanity.
The woman was just shaped too perfectly for him to ever forget.
He grunted at her.
This woman was going to be the death of him eventually. She’d just…end…him completely. She was the most dangerous woman in PAVAD. Women like that pulled men like him into chaos. He had seen it before.
“There are a few places around that aren’t fast food. There looks to be a Mexican place or a pizza place and a few diners. I do love diners. We’ll grab something and bring it back to the hotel. I want to get started.”
“Yes, ma’am. Your wish is my command. Find a diner, then.”
“Great. You’re driving. Like always.”
He did exactly as she told him. There was something going on in her complex brain. He could see it.
After they got their burgers and fries and were settled in his hotel room—his had a desk, hers didn’t—she looked at him, ketchup bottle in one hand and a steaming fry in another. “I swear, diners everywhere remind me of home. I love it. They are changing the name officially to Flo’s Masterson Diner soon. Marin’s doing. I’ll get you an Eat at Flo’s t-shirt next time I go home. That little sister of mine is one of the most brilliant creatures on the planet.”
“One of the most gorgeous.” And freakiest, no denying that. She wasn’t much like the woman in front of him, but she was unforgettable in her own way. As was the third sister, who was so sweet and kind, his teeth ached. The cousins were fascinating women in their own rights, too. He was immune—but it was hard to miss the allure.
